Tyndale House Publishers
Knew the Malarkey Book
Was a Fraud

See also: "More Proof that Tyndale House Publishers Knew the Malarkey Book was a Fraud"

In January 2015, Alex Malarkey released an open letter on the Pulpit & Pen website acknowledging that he had never really been to heaven. Alex's tales of heaven had been exaggerated, embellished, and published by his father in a best-selling book from Tyndale House Publishers titled The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven. When the secular news media became aware of Alex's open letter, the news went viral. A wave of articles gave the impression that Alex's confession was a recent change of mind for him. That was not the case. Furthermore, the publisher had known for at least three years that Alex Malarkey disputed the contents of the book, and yet they continued marketing the lies anyway. The following correspondence documents Tyndale House Publishers' culpability.

or the record, Tyndale House Publishers knew full well more than two years ago that Kevin Malarkey's book contained fabricated stories. I have a stack of correspondence between Beth Malarkey and Tyndale in which she tried to make Alex's true voice heard. They completely blew her off. So in early June last year, I sent the following e-mail. Tyndale never bothered to reply:

To: Tyndale House Editors
From: Phil Johnson
Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2014 4:34 PM
Subject: The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven

Sirs,

I'm curious about what rationale Tyndale's legal department has for dismissing the concerns that have been raised by Beth Malarkey, who says that: 1) the story told in The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven is filled with exaggerations and untruths; 2) although Alex Malarkey is listed as co-author of the book, he receives none of the royalties; 3) that Kevin Malarkey neglects his duties as a husband and father, not even adequately supporting his family financially (cf. 1 Timothy 5:8), but with Tyndale's encouragement he travels to promote the book.

I have already written a negative review of the book, pointing out where it is inconsistent with clear teachings of Scripture:

http://www.gty.org/blog/B121018

But after discussing the facts of Alex's case with Mrs. Malarkey over several months' time, I'm pondering writing a longer exposé of what seems to be a clear case of deliberate fraud and serious abuse (taking unfair advantage of a paraplegic child, no less). I know that Mrs. Malarkey has already raised these same concerns with people at Tyndale. Before I write further about the case, I would like to know Tyndale's reasons for dismissing her complaints—especially with regard to the use of Alex's name as a co-author, even though he gets no royalties from the book's sales and in fact does not even support the tale told in the book. Why would Tyndale wish to perpetuate such an obvious con against the Christian reading public?

-- Phil Johnson
   http://www.gty.org

On 16 January 2015, just hours after I posted the above copy of my letter to Tyndale House Publishers, a Tyndale House Senior Publicist released the following statement to media outlets:

Due to inaccurate statements currently being disseminated on some social media outlets, Tyndale is providing a further statement on our decision to take The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven out of print. "Earlier this week Tyndale learned that Alex Malarkey, co-author of The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, was retracting the story he had told his father and that he recounted in the book they co-authored for publication in 2010. It is because of this new information that we are taking the book out of print. For the past couple of years we have known that Beth Malarkey, Kevin's wife and Alex's mother, was unhappy with the book and believed it contained inaccuracies. On more than one occasion we asked for a meeting with Kevin, Beth, Alex and their agent to discuss and correct any inaccuracies, but Beth would not agree to such a meeting."

My reply:

From: Phil Johnson Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2015 1:14 AM To: 'Maggie W. Rowe' Subject: RE: Additional media statement from Tyndale House Dear Ms. Rowe, Your statement is demonstrably untrue on several levels: More than three years ago, on 6 August 2011, Alex Malarkey posted a public comment on the official (Tyndale-sponsored) FaceBook fan page featuring The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven. Here is a cut-and-pasted record of that comment thread: Alex Malarkey 1 of the most deceptive books ever Bev Henry Nicholl likes this. Lisa Deneweth Why do you say that? Lisa Core Hadding Alex..you are so brave and courageous and someone I admire! God has given you a purpose..and a voice to be heard. Darkness cannot hide or be concealed forever..God will bring the truth out into the light of day!! I will always stand with you and your momma!! Lynn Faccini Metzger The person writing above isn't Alex, is he????Alex would NOT say that his book is false..please check for spam on this page...the real Alex, your story is one of the most truthful, honest encounters I've ever read...God shines through your story and YOU so I know it is REAL and true (not to mention your experiences line up with Scripture.) Keep telling your story! It gives honor and glory to God and Jesus! Britnie Lukacs this very well is alex. and yes he would. you obviously don know the REAL alex. Lisa Core Hadding It is the real Alex...he told his experiences to his mom and dad and never wanted them shared until he..himself could do it personally. You will notice only one person from the family is out and about all the time for this book that Alex never gave permission for. He does have a beautiful story to share..full of the goodness of Christ. His beautiful and faith filled mother has always been at his side..during all the highs and lows. Alex stay strong as I know you will...God is by no means finished with your story!! Alex was blocked from commenting further on the book's FaceBook fan page. The page has since been removed, but the comments can probably be recovered and verified if necessary. Here's FaceBook's comment id number for Alex's "1 of the most deceptive books ever" comment: comment_id=3719222&a=100002367690427&tf=252656881426130&tpi= 132184650140021&ti=100&aoi=132184650140021&evt=16&gfid= AQBoNl0dOBDIbUCz&refid=52&_ft_=fbid.137827782972811 After posting that comment, Alex was so under stress that he had to be hospitalized for several days. His comment was not verbose; it's obviously hard for him to post comments online. But the comment, buttressed by supporting comments from people who obviously knew Alex personally, was certainly sufficient so that it ought to have prompted Tyndale to try to investigate Alex's testimony in an arena where he could speak freely without being manipulated by his father or intimidated by book agents and Tyndale editors. This becomes especially clear when seen in light of subsequent events: Beth Malarkey gave me copies of numerous email exchanges she had with various people at Tyndale. As early as 2011, she was begging Tyndale to put the brakes on the book. She made it abundantly clear that Alex was not in support of the book. She pleaded with Tyndale to listen to her with a sympathetic ear and investigate the truth of the matter independently. One of her main concerns was the way Alex was being portrayed as co-author, when he had no involvement in actually writing the book. She clearly and emphatically told Tyndale Alex did not feel the book accurately represented what he would say—and that he resented the fact that Tyndale was portraying him as a joint author. In one of her early letters, she quoted a long string of Amazon reviews from readers who clearly believed Alex had written the book. This is what she said about those reviews [in an email sent on 30 April 2012 to two senior Tyndale representatives, Jan Harris (Tyndale's "Momentum" imprint's Publisher) and Doug Knox (Senior VP and Group Publisher)]: The person in the above review appears to be led to believe that Alex is not only free from his vent but also that Kevin and Alex wrote it together. Also, there are people in the book and the DVD who were not involved with our family until 2008 and have not been around Alex or I since 2009. Why is Kevin answering questions in public on the experiences of heaven that are talked about in the book? Weren't the experiences in heaven ones said that Alex had??? If so, then isn't Kevin giving a second-hand account for a first-hand encounter of heaven and with God?? I cannot find that in the scriptures. Why does it appear as if Alex is not talking or answering questions,.... he is and has talked to people who are listening. Why was his ability to comment on the fan page taken away? If ALex is one of the authors, then where are his rights? Where are his royalties? With all this being said, as I stated in the beginning (and I know part of this paragraph is repeat of the opening one), Alex wants to talk directly to you at Tyndale and is willing to do so in front of Kevin and Matt. I do believe it is time to address what appears to be a very serious discrepancy. AS much as this mom wants to protect her son from further stress and the drastic affects that can occur because of it(and have witnessed it), ALex has requested to speak and his voice has been silenced for too long. He is no longer a little boy, but a teenager who is the one who has suffered greatly and is the ONLY one who has had an experience as profound as the one being sold in the form of a book. . . When would be the best time to set up a conversation between the Tyndale team, Kevin, and Matt Jacobson???It would be great if we could do it via Skype for that is a great way to see faces and expressions. As that excerpt shows, Beth and Alex DID agree to meet with Tyndale's editors under fair, non-intimidating conditions. Clearly it was not only Beth Malarkey who "was unhappy with the book and believed it contained inaccuracies." There was ample evidence that Alex was likewise grossly unhappy with the book. If nothing else, that FaceBook comment in August of 2011 stated Alex's opinion categorically. Obviously, one of the major disputed questions between Beth and Tyndale was whether Alex was truly "co-author." The statement [above] reflects Tyndale's cynical persistence in clinging to the very narrative under dispute. No wonder Beth Malarkey believed she could not get a fair hearing from Tyndale. The reference [above] to the agent (Matt Jacobson) as "their agent" is likewise extremely cynical. Who are "they"? The agent didn't represent Beth or Alex, did he? If you believe he did, it seems obvious he did not represent them very well. It is perfectly clear that Tyndale House had ample reason to put the brakes on this book years ago. I have many more emails between various Tyndale representatives and Beth Malarkey that further prove the point. I'm willing to make them public if that's what it takes to make the truth of the matter known. The facts of this case are neither obscure nor hidden, and there is no way Tyndale can credibly claim to have learned just this week that Mrs. Malarkey's concerns about the book were substantial, and that Alex likewise did not approve of the book. No matter how much or when Tyndale knew for certain, it seems clear that the publisher ought to have investigated Beth Malarkey's concerns early, objectively, and with an eye toward hers and Alex's rights. That was your ethical duty. Beth Malarkey begged you to be fair with her and Alex. Tyndale's refusal to do so was inexcusable. I cannot close without pointing out that on top of all that, the book itself tells a tale that on the face of it is highly dubious and in places patently unbiblical. It seems quite at odds with Tyndale House Publishers' founding principles. Instead of trying to spin the facts and make excuses, Tyndale ought to apologize to Beth and Alex Malarkey, and to the reading public as well, and consider instituting major reforms. -- Phil Johnson    http://www.gty.org PS: By the way, your statement [above] is the first response of any kind I have ever received from Tyndale House Publishers since writing with my concerns in early June of last year. I sent that message by e-mail to your editorial department, and also sent a copy via the page on your website that solicits feedback. It is galling to me that you would claim to be ignorant of Alex Malarkey's objections to the book (while peddling the book as one he co-authored), yet claim that "inaccurate statements [are] currently being disseminated on some social media outlets"—implying that we are liars who have pointed out that Tyndale surely knew too much to claim inculpability.